Past Events

A bipartisan group of leading authorities on election administration and cybersecurity will present an overview of current challenges and opportunities facing federal and state policymakers. In particular, speakers will highlight growing expert consensus on the importance of paper ballots and post-election audits as means to verify election results.

Join two of the most powerful voices in politics today – Cecile Richards and Alyssa Mastromonaco – for a wide-ranging conversation on elections, gender, and the course of our democracy in the age of Trump. Mastromonaco, deputy chief of staff to President Obama, and former Planned Parenthood president Richards will share their experiences weathering some of the nation’s toughest political fights.

This briefing will examine the first comprehensive package of campaign finance reforms to address the threat of foreign spending in American elections. Panelists will outline a roadmap that Congress, states and the social media companies can follow to proactively protect the integrity of our democracy from political spending. Panelists include Professor Young Mie Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Laura Rosenberger, The German Marshall Fund of the United States; and Ian Vandewalker, Brennan Center for Justice. Ann Ravel, former FEC Commissioner, will moderate.

Critics have assailed the rise of mass incarceration, emphasizing its disproportionate impact on people of color. As James Forman, Jr., points out, however, the war on crime that began in the 1970s was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers. Hear from James Foreman, Jr., professor at Yale Law School, on his recent book Locking Up Our Own.

CNN host Van Jones, the author of the new book Beyond the Messy Truth, will discuss his drive to cut prison populations in half – and the challenge of fighting for change in a polarized America. He will be in dialogue with Darren Walker, the President and CEO of the Ford Foundation.